THE RITUAL Review: Serviceable and Forgettable "True" Tale of Exorcism

The Ritual is the kind of movie that's only going to be sought out by completionists in a couple years. Whether they're looking to complete Al Pacino's filmography or watch every "based on a true story" exorcism movie, that's going to be the driving force to seek out the film, not any of its own merits.

Which isn't to say the movie's dramatization of "the most thoroughly documented and well known exorcism in American history" (according to a postscript) is entirely without merit. Pacino gives a surprisingly layered performance as exorcist Father Theophilus Riesinger, and imbues a monologue about enacting God's will through human kindness with genuine gravitas.

The production and costume design convincingly transport us to a 1928 convent in Iowa. An early ritual manages to wring some real horror and tension out of the possessed woman Emma (Abigail Cowen) lifting a nun off the ground by her hair. Best among them is also the most interesting: the film takes some time to show Riesinger caring for Emma during the day rather than focusing solely on the priest's battle with the demon/s that possess her.

But those virtues are undercut at almost every turn, to varying degrees of evening things out to just fine and pushing the film into outright bad territory. Pacino and Cowen are the only actors properly dialed into the self-serious tone and familiar beats without becoming caricatures of their archetypes.

The undeniably talented Dan Stevens, as Father Joseph Steiger, who's pulled into taking notes on the rituals (hence "most thoroughly documented"), lays on the stammering and awkward hand movements too thick in an unconvincing portrait of a nervous man. Ashley Greene, who should have become a movie star after the Twilight movies, and Patricia Heaton are both so firmly locked into the shy nun and severe mother superior roles respectively that they almost blend into the well-dressed sets.

Those sets aren't that easy to see either, though, as director David Midell decides to shoot the film handheld. What's undoubtedly meant to draw viewers into the chaos and immediacy of the events playing out ends up distracting and feeling aesthetically anachronistic; the frequent zooms certainly don't help. In contrast, the script is far too pat with its archetypes, familiar plot beats, and some poor attempts at being trendy, including a thread about Steiger grieving the recent death of his brother, and an out of left field quick little #feminism speech from Heaton's mother superior.

Most egregious of all is the insistence on underscoring every potentially frightening moment with a blaring frenzy of strings to ensure viewers know they're supposed to be scared. It's not just annoying, its effect is exactly the opposite of its intent. Something falling over unprovoked in a silent room might be unnerving, but when a cacophony is laid over the rather mundane happening, it becomes almost embarrassing to watch.

It's a real shame, because beyond the one or two moments that actually land as scary, many more could have if The Ritual just trusted its audience to know they're watching a horror movie.

The film opens Friday, June 6, in select theaters, via XYZ Films.